Streetcar advocates fare well in elections

Wins in Idaho, Ohio, and NC

Steve Hawley, Nov 04, 09.

Streetcar advocates won several victories in Tuesday’s mayoral elections, including triumphs in Boise, Charlotte, and Cincinnati, according to the Associated Press. Pro-streetcar candidates won mayoral elections in all three cities.

A more detailed AP article just before the election notes that streetcars were prominent issues in those three elections. In Boise, a proposed $60 million trolley line became a focal point of the election, and the Cincinnati mayor, who was reelected over an anti-streetcar foe, has been promoting a $128 million streetcar plan. The Charlotte plan could cost $400 million, but the winning candidate insists that the line will benefit the city’s downtown areas.

The article notes that around 80 US cities - including Dallas and San Antonio - are currently considering streetcar proposals, and that the Obama administration has provided extra funding for transit, particularly in the form of stimulus money. Proponents argue that streetcars generate economic development while reducing congestion and air pollution, while opponents view the systems as unnecessary public spending and criticize the systems for being subsidized by local taxpayers.

However, a recent study showed that highways receive $30 billion in subsidies every year, as opposed to just $9 billion for transit. And in Portland, which opened the first modern US streetcar system in 2001, the streetcar line has generated over $2.5 billion in investments already and helped turn around the Pearl District.

(Photo credit: cacophony)